History of Signs: How Signs Tell America’s Story (Lecture)




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Explore 100 years of American history through objects often taken for granted in everyday life: signs. Led by the American Sign Museum (ASM) staff, this course introduces the Museum’s origins and features a conversation with ASM’s founder about why signs matter. We will examine how signs have evolved due to trends in commerce and technology. We will also explore case studies of three major food companies who used signage to shape their brands. In the final session, we will take a virtual visit to ASM’s neon shop to see how a neon sign is made.

Your instructor: Erin Holland
The American Sign Museum (Cincinnati, Ohio) covers more than 100 years of American sign history and displays more than 800 signs and artifacts, making it the most comprehensive museum of its kind. With a mission to educate the community about the history of the sign industry and its significant contribution to commerce and the American landscape, the Museum is organized to preserve, archive and display a historical collection of signs in their many types and forms.

Class Dates and Time: Fridays, July 24 through August 28
8am Pacific | 9am Mountain | 10am Central | 11am Eastern
Each session is 90 minutes. 
 
 Class schedule: Live lecture will take place on Fridays via ZOOM 
  • 7/24/2026
  • 7/31/2026
  • 8/7/2026
  • 8/14/2026
  • 8/21/2026
  • 8/28/2026

June 30, 2026, 1pm Central is the Osher Online Member Orientation.

Class Details

6 Session(s)
Weekly - Fri

Location
Virtual - Any Location

Instructor
Osher Online 

Tuition: 

$70.00

Email olli@northwestern.edu for more information. Send to Friend »

Schedule Information

Date(s) Class Days Times Location Instructor(s)
7/24/2026 - 8/28/2026 Weekly - Fri 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM N/A, Virtual - Any Location  Map Osher Online 

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